


Gold Dust

by greenJeanKirstein



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, F/F, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Multi, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-08 21:17:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12873210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenJeanKirstein/pseuds/greenJeanKirstein
Summary: How many times must a man die to be dead? How many men must see him die for him to truly be dead?Kevin Day thinks that his friend, his lover, has been dead for years. But when the oracle sees golden dust in the shape of a man in her dreams, Kevin is not so sure any more.--“Is he still alive, Renee? After all that happened?”Renee’s smile was almost forced.“I don’t know, Kevin. Is he?”





	Gold Dust

**Author's Note:**

  * For [defractum (nyargles)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyargles/gifts).



> A gift for @defractum for their prompt of Kevin/Riko with Fantasy AU. A part of All For the Game exchange.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own no characters – they belong to Nora Sakavic. I will gladly say that the idea of the storyline is my own. In this short story, Kevin (and the other characters as well) is about 24-25, but in the flashbacks he is in his late teens or early adult years (perhaps 17-19). Riko is implied to be older (being a non-mortal? non-human?) both during the flashbacks and during Kevin’s interactions with his friends.
> 
> The ending can be read just as you want to read it. 
> 
> Italics mean the flashbacks.

Knight Kevin Day had barely started with his breakfast when Guard Captain Andrew Minyard slid his plate onto the table across from Kevin, and sat down. With great disdain, Kevin noted that there was equal parts of honey and porridge on his plate.

“Heard the news yet?” Andrew asked, mixing the honey into his porridge.

Kevin shook his head, looking down at his own eggs and bacon combination, carefully cutting the meat into smaller pieces. “I’m afraid not. Is it war? Is the Queen due earlier than was expected?”

“Renee had a dream,” Andrew said through a mouthful. “A prophecy, she said.”

Renee Walker was one of the strongest oracles the kingdom employed. All her dreams reflected the future; none of what she had promised had not happened.

“That is not unusual.”

Renee had told Kevin of his future many times. She had told him to watch out for mysterious figures. He had not listened. She had warned him to look out for golden eyes and sharp teeth. As much as he had tried to keep himself away from danger, Renee had still been right when she said that he himself would bring misfortune to himself and the whole kingdom.

Andrew continued as if Kevin had not said anything.

“She saw golden dust floating in the air. She said that it tried to take the shape of a man.”

At that, Kevin froze, stopping chewing and swallowing what little he had in his mouth. Gold dust in the shape of a man… Another one of Renee’s prophecies that had come true.

Andrew narrowed his eyes slightly, as he watched Kevin closely. “But that cannot be true, can it? How many people must testify that a man is dead for him to be truly dead?”

“Who’s dead?”

Neil Josten, messenger, spy, occasional hunter, and Andrew’s right-hand man, sat down next to Andrew, a plate full of sweet-looking and sweet-smelling goo in his hands. He nodded as a hello for Kevin, and touched Andrew’s hand briefly. If Andrew noticed that Kevin noticed, he did not say anything.

“Who’s dead?” Neil asked again, taking his spoon, happily digging into his breakfast.

“Moriyama. Riko Moriyama.”

Fortunately, Neil managed to swallow his food before looking at Kevin. They both did not move. Slowly, Neil nodded.

“He is, yes. I saw him die.”

Kevin had also seen Riko die. Multiple times in his dreams, once in a vision that seemed a hazy hallucination, and once in real life; a blurred _painful_ memory that was much in the past and sealed away, sewn shut as if a wound that would not heal on its own. And now Andrew had torn apart the stitches and left Kevin bleeding all over again.

 

_Kevin had also been bleeding the first time he met Riko. He had been young, reckless and stupid – he had chased after two poachers on his own, but the hunters had been much more experienced than him, and one of them had shot an arrow at Kevin. Kevin’s reflexes were fast, and so his hand caught the arrow before it could penetrate his chest. He had screamed in pain as he fell, had yanked the arrow out of his hand and had tried to find a body of water to wash his wound clean. He had not cried._

_“You should get that looked at.” A man said from behind him as he held his hand in the cold stream, and with his right hand, Kevin drew his sword, looking at the man. The man was short, but looked rather threatening in his dark robe and slacks, which made him look more washed out than he probably was._

_Kevin gulped, wounded hand still in the water._

_“I am armed,” he told the man, eyeing him over again. “Don’t come any closer!”_

_The man simply smiled and took a few steps closer, gesturing to Kevin’s hand. “Let me have a look. I am a healer. I will not harm you…”_

_He waited for Kevin to give him his name and his hand. Reluctantly, Kevin did._

_“It’s Kevin. I’m a knight… I… Perhaps wanted to do more than I should have.”_

_The man nodded, gently conjuring a healing aura to slowly heal Kevin’s hand. The aura, Kevin noticed, was golden and warm._

_“What’s your name?” Kevin asked, wincing slightly as his hand was healed._

_“Riko.” The man had said before giving Kevin’s hand a quick one-over, and leaving as soon as Kevin turned to wash his hand._

_Kevin had not even thanked him._

 

Renee found Kevin in the courtyard under a tree, a book in his lap and a frown on his face. She folded her cape under herself as she sat down next to him, smiling gently.

“There is much on your mind. Andrew has told you of my dreams, has he not?”

Kevin could not hide the turmoil in his mind, and so he nodded, setting his book aside. “I know it was wrong of me to ignore the warnings, and I know he was the devil, but…”

With a sigh, he turned to look at the falling leaves.

“No man can defeat death. Nobody can come back from afterlife. No riches, no intelligence, no virtues are enough to drag anyone away from the brink of death.”

Renee’s hand on his was cold, but felt reassuring enough. “Dreams are confusing things, Kevin. Not everything we see can be taken as they appear to be.”

Kevin thought for a while, his eyes following a single leaf that was golden in the sun.

“Is he still alive, Renee? After all that happened?”

Renee’s smile was almost forced.

“I don’t know, Kevin. Is he?”

 

_Kevin never told his superiors about the accident with his hand. It would have been too much trouble about nothing – his hand was healed and the scar looked more like a little burn than a stab wound. He never told anyone about the man either. Not when he saw him lurking in the woods again; not when Renee confided she had had a dream of a man with golden eyes, dressed in black, trying to pull Kevin apart with his claws._

_Instead, Kevin approached the man with a smile and with polite inquiries into the man’s well-being. On the first evening, he learned the man’s name. The second evening took him to the small cottage Riko had. The third evening he did not return to the barracks, instead spending the night in Riko’s bed. Renee’s warning did not ring clear in his mind even if Riko’s nails dragged down his back, leaving deep red welts in their wake._

_Riko was quiet, but Kevin welcomed it. Riko let Kevin talk and Kevin did, singing of his day like a little bird as Riko’s warm hands massaged his shoulders and his back, helping him to relax after a long day of patrolling. When his hands wandered, Kevin became louder._

_“Oh, Kevin,” Riko stroked his hair after Kevin had told him of his day in the castle and after they had both gotten a rather lovely conclusion to their evening, “You tell me such wonderful things.”_

_Kevin whined when Riko’s hold in his hair got stronger, and Riko pulled on it so that Kevin was forced to look him in the eyes._

_“I could listen to you ramble for hours… But I do not have the time for that right now._ Sleep _.”_

_Kevin fell asleep before he could see the golden gleam in Riko’s eyes._

 

Kevin rode out the next morning, as soon as the dawn brought light to the kingdom. He wanted to see if the dreams Renee had had were true, or if they were just that – dreams. Would he find Riko in the moors? Would he hear his laugh when he rode through the greens? Would Riko surprise him from behind, wrapping his arms around Kevin’s wet torso as he dried in the sunlight near the riverbank?

It had been years, Kevin thought as his horse trotted down the road, heading to the woods he had met Riko in when he had been young and foolish. Would he even recognise Riko’s touch? Would he appreciate it?

The whole day he spent like so, riding on his horse, listening to the wind, trying not to freeze as the snow fell, smelling the air. He heard no whispers of gold, no traces of dust and felt nothing to remind him of Riko’s presence. Perhaps Renee had read her dreams wrong, or perhaps she still had anger and sorrow in her heart. Kevin had apologised, of course, when Renee’s protector Allison was wounded by a golden arrow that was of magical origin, but Renee still held a grudge. Maybe she wanted Kevin to suffer like she had – she wanted Kevin to hope the man he loved was still alive until someone would drag him to the shallow grave that marked Riko’s passing.

“Where are you?” Kevin asked, brushing the snow away from the stone, a flat piece of rock on which Riko’s name was written. It was not the most delicate or elaborate headstone one would want, but considering that Kevin had had to commission it in secret, it was not bad. Hidden carefully in the woods, nobody but Kevin knew where to look if one wanted to reminisce about the death of a man so many had called a demon, but so few a lover.

“Where are you, Riko?” Kevin pressed his forehead against the cold stone. “Are you still alive?”

 

_“Where are you, Riko?” Kevin laughed, looking around himself and trying to see behind which tree Riko had hidden himself. They were playing hide-and-seek during the dusk, and it was Riko’s time to hide._

_As Kevin looked around, he heard an odd wind whoosh around, and turned to see if Riko was there. A few leaves fell into his face and he smiled, stepping towards where the leaves had come from._

_“Are you up in the trees, Riko?” he asked, stopping under one of the bigger trees, looking up then, grinning when Riko looked down at him, a finger over his mouth to quiet Kevin. They did not move, merely looked at each other. Kevin broke character first and climbed the tree, sitting next to Riko on the branch, kissing the back of his delicate hand._

_“I found you.”_

_Riko’s smile never reached his eyes._

_“What a clever little fox you are, Kevin. Will you hide for me now?”_

_Kevin shook his head, resting his head on Riko’s shoulder._

_“I don’t want to hide from you. It’s been hard in the castle…” he took a deep sigh and then told Riko what was on his mind – how the queen was expecting her first child and how the security was heightened. He did not notice how Riko seemed to memorise everything, so busy was he with complaining and with feeling how Riko rubbed his arm to soothe him._

_They kissed goodnight and Riko cradled Kevin’s face between his palms._

_“I wish I could keep you, Kevin, but alas, I cannot.”_

_Confused, Kevin frowned, but leaned down for another kiss, then another, and one more until Riko pulled away and left as he always did – quickly and quietly._

_The next morning the queen was found nearly dead, her unborn child ripped out of her body and brutally murdered. Around the dead fetus was a circle of golden dust. When the person with the most magical talent in the castle, Nicolas, was brought to investigate the dust, he only had to sniff the air to turn around and to say he could pick up three scents from the golden sprinkles – chocolate, old wine and metal._

_To everyone’s surprise, it was Kevin that smelled of gold, of the bitter grapes and of luxury chocolates. It was only because Kevin had an alibi of being with two other guards at the time of the murder that he was spared from the death sentence. Still, he was beaten and interrogated, forced to reveal all his secrets._

_Nicholas had been positively intrigued by the mention of a man who was magical; Andrew called Kevin stupid and told him to think with his brain, not with the rest of his body. Although Kevin had flushed in embarrassment and shame, he had tried to warn Riko before the knights found him. He had seen Riko last a few seconds before Riko died, the golden gleam of his eyes disappearing as Kevin held his body close, begging for Riko to return to him._

 

Kevin sat by the headstone for what seemed like an eternity. On one hand it would be better if Riko was dead – some things were better left as they were, and besides, Riko had nearly murdered the bloodline of the empire. On the other hand, Kevin still missed him, missed how vulnerable he could be with Riko. Andrew had called him foolish many times, had tried to get Kevin to believe that Riko had only used him; had Kevin not used Riko, too? Had he not made the man into his solace, had he not complained and rambled, had he not eaten and drank what Riko procured? Had he not slept in his bed, took his pleasure from Riko?

The snow fell slowly, little cold white flakes contrasting beautifully with Kevin’s dark hair. A warm breeze, very unlike the winter winds brushed Kevin’s hair, almost as if playing with it. When Kevin reluctantly looked up, he could only see trees in the snow, standing tall and strong.

And then, suddenly, the snow was not white; and it was not snow that fell. Golden flecks circled the tombstone, and sparkling dust rose up instead of falling down. Kevin could see that for a couple of seconds, the dust took the shape of a man, a figure that Kevin knew well.

“Riko?”

Warmth washed over him again, and when he closed his eyes, he could swear he heard a whisper of _Kevin_ in the air. The golden dust was gone in a blink, disappeared when Kevin’s eyes opened again.

Behind him, steps. Kevin squeezed his eyes shut again.

“Kevin?”

**Author's Note:**

> That's it, folks.
> 
> [my tumblr here](http://www.softproko.tumblr.com)


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